8 Sep 2016

According to Academy boss Alex Inglethorpe, Liverpool midfielder Kevin Stewart is the perfect 'role model' for young players at Anfield, and it now transpires that the ex-Spurs trainee rejected first-team football at several lower league clubs to sign for the Reds.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo this week, Inglethorpe hailed Stewart's 'incredible desire to improve', and confirmed:

“He [Stewart] could have signed for Sheffield United or other Football League clubs, but his decision was based on the fact he wanted to carry on getting better rather than going into someone else’s first team".

Hmmm. It remains to be seen whether rejecting regular first-team football for consistent bench duty is a good long-term strategy, but for now, Stewart is a bench player, and unless there's a major injury crisis, it'll stay that way for the rest of the season.

That said, with Emre Can injured, Saturday's Premier League represents a perfect opportunity for Stewart to start as a dedicated defensive midfielder, but I doubt Klopp will give him that chance, even though the Reds are crying out for solidity in that position.

It's perfectly possible to fit Wijnaldum, Henderson, and Stewart into the same team, it just means - horror of horrors - playing Wijnaldum as an attacking midfielder, which, throughout his career, has proven to be his best (and most frequently occupied) position.